Chapter 15: Hastening Spring’s End (III)

In the dim room, incense smoke rose gently. Only Yanluo sat by Luo Wei’s side, holding a fan to shield her from the raindrops splashing under the eaves while she was still dreaming.

Luo Wei grasped Yanluo’s cold hand and said in a daze, “Another Qingming has arrived.”

Yanluo softly replied, “Your Majesty, please take care.”

Luo Wei regained her composure, wiped away her tears, and asked, “Where is he now?”

Since learning the truth, she privately refused to call Song Lan by his childhood name, even sparing the title “Your Majesty,” often referring to him directly by his name or as “he.”

Yanluo responded, “Yesterday, Noble Consort Yu was playing with a cat in the Imperial Garden and got scratched on her arm. She cried and made a fuss. He promised to visit her after leaving the Political Affairs Hall. Consort Yu clung to him, and now he has gone to Pifang Pavilion. Tomorrow is the Qingming holiday, no early court session required, so he definitely won’t go elsewhere tonight.”

Luo Wei smiled, “The cats you trained are somewhat useful. Another day, I’ll hire one from you to entertain and amuse me.”

Yanluo shook her head and changed the subject, “Your Majesty once said that person is so intelligent it’s almost eerie, unsure whether good or bad. Do you have a conclusion now?”

Luo Wei adjusted her cloud-like hair and sat up, “No.”

Yanluo then said, “Then will Your Majesty still meet him today?”

Luo Wei replied, “Yes, why not? Now that he has gained such trust from Song Lan, if I don’t meet him and he falls into someone else’s hands, what if he turns into a sharp sword and stabs my chest later?”

Yanluo hesitated, “But if we can’t uncover his intentions, such a clever person might not be easy for Your Majesty to handle. This humble servant has already investigated for Your Majesty. He has many suspicious points. Coming to the capital is certainly not just for fame and fortune. Although after General Ye’s death that year, he came to see Your Majesty and seemed unforgettable, but youthful affection, can it truly last until now?”

“Silly Yanluo, the ‘unforgettable’ you can investigate, how much of it is real?” Luo Wei smiled, “What you found is probably just that he inquired about me multiple times in Beiyu. If he intended to, all these could be pre-arranged. Do you really think he wants to rely on us based on those two forgotten traces of old affection?”

“Such a person has no feelings in his heart. He chose me over Song Lan because he sees through Song Lan’s coldness. As for the Grand Tutor…” Luo Wei fiddled with a phoenix-headed hairpin at her side and meaningfully continued, “The battle of Youyun River had many doubts back then. He distanced himself cleanly, but he might not want to overturn the case for his Ye family. Moreover, I see that he seems to have old grievances with the Grand Tutor. Even if I’m wrong, though Song Lan intends to promote him, the Grand Tutor won’t let him join his faction.”

Yanluo fell silent for a moment and said, “Indeed, this humble servant thought too little. As Your Majesty said, this person showing goodwill to Your Majesty is nothing more than a strategy after weighing pros and cons.”

“Naturally, he and I have common enemies; borrowing him is harmless,” Luo Wei said, “In the end, though I have trusted aides in court, none of them are upright Confucian scholars. Some things that can’t see the light of day, they ultimately can’t do.”

Seeing Yanluo’s worried expression, Luo Wei gently touched her shoulder, “You need not worry. I have my calculations and can offer conditions that Song Lan and others can’t provide.”

Yanluo said, “Others can’t give, so this humble servant is even more worried. Bu Jun decided to sacrifice herself not only because of guilt and sorrow but also because she didn’t want Your Majesty to abandon the path and act against your conscience. Both Your Majesty and Bu Jun are naturally kind-hearted people. Falling due to others’ evil isn’t worth it.”

Luo Wei was startled, then bitterly smiled, “Bu Jun and you both think too highly of me. From the day I knew everything, I had already abandoned the path and couldn’t remain untainted. Enough, enough, why talk about these sentimental words. I’ll tell you…”

“All I can give, including myself, flesh and blood, are all external things. You should understand this better than me. Moreover, he…”

She paused, not finishing the sentence.

Before the palace gates locked at dusk, lights were lit everywhere. Some palaces began serving dishes. The mist after the rain lingered over the imperial city. Palace attendants walked hurriedly with lowered heads, too busy to care about other scenery.

Luo Wei walked through the forest, removed her cloak, and stepped onto the high terrace again.

Today, Ye Tingyan, dressed in vermilion official robes, wasn’t disguised as a guard. He sat with his back to Luo Wei at the moss-covered stone table on the platform, hat removed, silhouetted by the setting sun.

In her heart, Luo Wei completed the words she hadn’t finished with Yanluo.

“Moreover, compared to Song Lan, he seems more alike. Appearance similar, only ugly imitations, elegant demeanor, harmonious charm.”

•

Ye Tingyan sat at the stone table, somewhat distracted. It wasn’t until he felt a chill on his arm that he realized the rain had stopped, but residual moisture from the crevices dampened his clothes, spreading a deep red on the vermilion fabric.

Clear skies after rain, haze dispersed, the hanging sunset was brilliantly decadent. This palace ruin, combined with the late spring evening scene, became a lost world within the splendid imperial city.

The previous meeting at Gaoyang Terrace was also at dusk.

The closing time for the library was mid-afternoon, yet there were always officials engrossed in books who forgot the time and left hurriedly at the beginning of the evening hour. As long as Ye Tingyan submitted his token before the palace gates locked at mid-evening, he could find an opportunity to secretly meet Luo Wei here. Then he could say he was engrossed in affairs to cover it up.

The library was not far from the dense forest in front of Gaoyang Terrace, and he was very familiar with the paths. Even without changing his robe, he was confident he wouldn’t be seen.

Moreover, after the change of leadership in the Golden Sky Guard, the night patrol route was altered, and the nearest one was a hundred steps away from the dense forest. Knowing the place was suitable and arranging matters carefully, Luo Wei dared to meet him, ensuring absolute safety.

Ye Tingyan rubbed his slightly damp sleeve and couldn’t help but use his hand as a brush, repeatedly pondering the writing of the character “見” (see).

After Lu Heng’s death, he handled related matters at the Ministry of Justice before returning home. After dinner, Pei Xi and a guard named Yuan Ming who had searched Lu Heng’s residence with Ye Tingyan visited.

This guard, Yuan Ming, was originally a soldier in Yan’s army. Later, he injured his left ear and couldn’t follow Yan’s army to fight in Beiyu. He temporarily retired and took a leisurely position at the Ministry of Justice.

However, this person was meticulous and diligent, quickly gaining the favor of his superiors. When Song Lan sought trusted men from the Ministry of Justice to form the Zhuque Office, his master brought him in, granting him the robe with the Zhuque emblem.

No one in the court knew that he had received favors from Crown Prince Chengming in his early years.

That day, after Ye Tingyan and the Zhuque Office searched Lu Heng’s residence and parted ways in their sedan chairs, at a deserted street corner, he heard Yuan Ming’s suppressed excited voice outside the curtain: “This humble servant Yuan Ming pays respects to His Highness.”

Ye Tingyan didn’t lift the curtain to meet him, only sighed, “Mosheng, you’ve worked hard.”

Yuan Ming said, “When I received Your Highness’s letter initially, I hardly dared to believe it. Seeing you today, I know… Your Highness returned to the capital, why didn’t you inform this humble servant?”

“Given the current situation, there’s no need to address me as Your Highness,” Ye Tingyan said, “My return to the capital was sudden. Delaying until today to meet you was not my wish. Today I summoned you for an important matter.”

Yuan Ming said, “Anything Your Highness commands.”

Ye Tingyan said, “Though I searched Lu Heng’s residence with the Zhuque Office, you and I both know it was just a formality. At night, take the key and search again, see if there’s anything unusual.”

Yuan Ming acknowledged and left. Today’s visit was presumably to report to him.

However, Ye Tingyan didn’t expect that Yuan Ming hadn’t found anything else at his residence, only half a sheet of sized paper left under his bed.

According to Yuan Ming, this paper had indentation marks, indicating there should have been more. But someone had taken the rest, leaving only this inconspicuous half-sheet in the corner.

It was half a sheet because the other half had been burned.

On the remaining page were only two “見” characters.

Ye Tingyan repeatedly traced these two characters, growing increasingly shocked as he wrote.

If he wasn’t mistaken, it was unmistakably Luo Wei’s handwriting.

She practiced small regular script with floral embellishments in her youth. Growing older, she found the conventional calligraphy unsatisfying. She diligently studied the Lanting Preface but refused to copy verbatim. Later, seeing feibai calligraphy, she combined the two, developing her own calligraphic insights.

The “見” character’s left stroke was half a fraction longer than the right hook, with fine white lines showing, her most common style.

But why would the Empress correspond with Lu Heng?

Before Ye Tingyan took over the Western Garden murder case, Song Lan personally went to the Zhuque Office and questioned overnight. Worried about Lu Heng babbling nonsense in prison, he preemptively cut out his tongue and injured his hand, making it impossible for anyone to ask questions, and hastily concluded the case as a crime of passion.

Ye Tingyan knew that even if Lu Heng were still alive, he probably wouldn’t reveal the reason.

Behind him came the sound of fabric rubbing against the ground. His fingers stiffened, and he reined in these thoughts, turning to bow, “This humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty.”